RE: PH Fleet: Toyota MR2
Discussion
I've been falling out of love with my MR2 for a while as various bits died of old age and it failed the MOT, forcing me to turn my RX7 into a daily driver (no, it isn't cheap).
All it took was one night working on the car in the garage with a few beers and I was convinced of the MR2s worthiness again. Stick at it!
All it took was one night working on the car in the garage with a few beers and I was convinced of the MR2s worthiness again. Stick at it!
Any other cheap car and I'd say bin it...
... But it's a Mk1 MR2! It's a one of a kind mid engined sports coupe, with sweet sweet handling and fantastic angular 1980's looks. With everything retro currently being in fashion, my head says bin it, but my heart says as long as you don't spend more than the car is worth, it's well worth saving. The engines in these go on forever and a nice sorted example is such a good car and has so much going for it, that I'd be tempted to bung a grand at it, and bask in the warm glow of 1980's brilliance. And pop up headlights.
... But it's a Mk1 MR2! It's a one of a kind mid engined sports coupe, with sweet sweet handling and fantastic angular 1980's looks. With everything retro currently being in fashion, my head says bin it, but my heart says as long as you don't spend more than the car is worth, it's well worth saving. The engines in these go on forever and a nice sorted example is such a good car and has so much going for it, that I'd be tempted to bung a grand at it, and bask in the warm glow of 1980's brilliance. And pop up headlights.
I was ready to say bin it and start again, but the more I think about it the repair cost just shouldn't be that much. There are plenty who have experience in fixing these and an abundance of spares on ebay. Certainly worth checking out what else needs doing first and costing things up before parting ways. Probably worth removing the front bumper (if you can), I'd expect lots of rust hiding under there.
Also what are you like as a home mechanic? Now could be your chance to become a lot better!
Also what are you like as a home mechanic? Now could be your chance to become a lot better!
Basically, when you look at the kind of things people drag out of the back of a barn and win a concours with 2 years later, everything is repairable. It's all down to money.
So, I guess the question is - do you cut your losses (well, you're not going to get much for it, so your losses will be quite substantial percentage wise I'd imagine) and chop it in, and then buy another, or do you fix it, knowing that it was the car you wanted in the first place, and that you'd still have to fork out for something to replace it with afterwards? Is it actually going to be any cheaper?
To be honest, that might just be Man-Maths...
I can't tell anymore!
So, I guess the question is - do you cut your losses (well, you're not going to get much for it, so your losses will be quite substantial percentage wise I'd imagine) and chop it in, and then buy another, or do you fix it, knowing that it was the car you wanted in the first place, and that you'd still have to fork out for something to replace it with afterwards? Is it actually going to be any cheaper?
To be honest, that might just be Man-Maths...
I can't tell anymore!I think this is just the thing though - I'd agree with you entirely, if it was just a case of bunging a grand at it. Sadly I reckon the repair work, plus the clutch and cambelt it already needed, plus the radiator is all going to come to at least £1500. That's before you factor in repairing the leaky roof (and the untold rust horrors that may lay beneath those T-Bar seals). Which is why I'm baulking a little!
Ooh tough call.
There are quite a few out there that are not rusted so you could keep this one as spares (or break it for spares) and buy another one to run about in. ( I know where there is a good white one for sale, not mine though). Or you could repair it.
I imported my SC and found to my horror it had no floor to speak of. Had it all repaired and wouldn't part with mine now.
Don't go with the mx5, that is such a stock answer and there are loads of them. The MR2 is more special.
There are quite a few out there that are not rusted so you could keep this one as spares (or break it for spares) and buy another one to run about in. ( I know where there is a good white one for sale, not mine though). Or you could repair it.
I imported my SC and found to my horror it had no floor to speak of. Had it all repaired and wouldn't part with mine now.
Don't go with the mx5, that is such a stock answer and there are loads of them. The MR2 is more special.
Scrof said:
I think this is just the thing though - I'd agree with you entirely, if it was just a case of bunging a grand at it. Sadly I reckon the repair work, plus the clutch and cambelt it already needed, plus the radiator is all going to come to at least £1500. That's before you factor in repairing the leaky roof (and the untold rust horrors that may lay beneath those T-Bar seals). Which is why I'm baulking a little!
So let's say £2k for the lot.How many cars this rare & with this much character and in as good a condition as this will be can you get for less than £3500?
zygalski said:
So let's say £2k for the lot.
How many cars this rare & with this much character and in as good a condition as this will be can you get for less than £3500?
Exactly. Even if you look at it from the point of view of "he didn't want to spend £3.5k in the first place, only £1.5k", there's not going to be much in the kitty left over to get something else after flogging it (flogging it honestly, that is).How many cars this rare & with this much character and in as good a condition as this will be can you get for less than £3500?
I can only see three options that make any sense:
1) Break it for parts and sell them on ebay (remember not to sell the sills) to try to get as much of your £1500 back as possible.
2) Keep it as a parts car, buy another, and then weigh in the crap shell for scrap once you've stripped everything you need or are ever likely to need.
3) Fix it.
Just selling it is the worst of all the available options in my view.
Previous SOTW advert in 2010 said:
"I have this car checked out by my friendly mechanic who carried out the MOT and there is nothing wrong with.
The rear wheel arches have been repaired and are therefore rust free. Body wise it is in very good condition.
Underneath is in excellent condition."
And it was on at £800. So... did someone ruin it, and then add £700 to the price?The rear wheel arches have been repaired and are therefore rust free. Body wise it is in very good condition.
Underneath is in excellent condition."
£100 on a radiator, few hours spent DIY changing it on a Saturday morning. £1000 on welding/bodywork should see you right. T-Bars, well they all leak just get the carpets up and see if it has rusted the floors out.
I've seen some extremely cherished Mk1's suprise their long term owners with rust in that area. However they realised chances of picking up a rust free Mk1 below £2.5K is few and far between. So they paid for the work to be done.
If you can get all the work done so that it's in tip top condition and your all out spend for the car and work doing is around £3K you're doing alright.
Before concentrating on the rust in that area though, heed OlberJ's advice by checking out the front ARB mount points, cut back the undersealant to see if all is well. As that is a real deal breaker.
I've seen some extremely cherished Mk1's suprise their long term owners with rust in that area. However they realised chances of picking up a rust free Mk1 below £2.5K is few and far between. So they paid for the work to be done.
If you can get all the work done so that it's in tip top condition and your all out spend for the car and work doing is around £3K you're doing alright.
Before concentrating on the rust in that area though, heed OlberJ's advice by checking out the front ARB mount points, cut back the undersealant to see if all is well. As that is a real deal breaker.
Strip the car yourself, send it to http://www.surfaceprocessing.co.uk/ , repair the gaps, paint it exquisitly and have one of the best mk.1 MR2 examples on the road.
Yup, it will cost, but at the end of the day... yours will be one of the best.
Your call
Yup, it will cost, but at the end of the day... yours will be one of the best.
Your call
Edited by ajb101 on Tuesday 5th February 14:46
This is really sad. If I had a lot more spare capital I'd buy one for a full restoration. Just yesterday I was musing on keeping a classic jap fleet of things that will otherwise eventually all pile onto the scrapheap. Though there are many of these on the road still I reckon 70% are just one failed MOT away from the scrapheap/breakers.
I'm going to make a massive, sweeping, probably unfair judgement here, on a bit of a tangent from the thread. Its not particularly aimed at the OP either, but...
Are the Pistonheads lot pretty useless at buying and running 2nd hand cars or what? Genuine question - there seems to an awful lot of "We bought this MR2/Lexus/RX8/944/whatever, and we love it, but after 3 months it turns out its a complete dog and needs many thousands of pounds spending on it"
This is often followed by a bit of a free plug for whatever well reccomended marque specialist you've found, and who have run you up a nice whopping bill for a load of work that - to be blunt - if you want to play with old sports cars, you should be able to at least have a try at yourself?
I don't recall any stories more along the lines of "we bought some coilovers, and heres a photo of the lads fitting them in the carpark on Saturday morning".
Some things, clearly, are not easy - if you can weld and do paintwork at home, your a lucky guy. But its not as if most of the cars mentioned are anything particularly odd-ball - the great thing about these PH Fleet reports is they are the kind of cars that many of us members also own.
I'm not expecting PH to be a bodgetastic lot like PPC or anything. I am sure (in fact we know) that within your bunch of staff and writers you have some very talented people - Writers, Roadtesters, the IT lot who run the site etc.
But do any of you actually know which end of a screwdriver to pick up? Do you have a multimeter or a set of spanners between you?
I suspect I'm gonna get slated here - I'm not being holier-than-thou, nor am I some kind of proffesional mechanic, or someone who runs a Lambo on a £5 budget having rebuilt it from scrap in my shed.
But, I'm genuinely interested if this is representative of the general car enthusiast these days or not. Maybe its that within my group of immediate friends - all of which will quite happily muck in to roll in the dirt on a weekend and help swap a clutch out.
Perhaps its just not where PH is aiming, and simply "pay a man to do it" is acceptable to most enthusiasts these days, which is a bit dissapointing.
You lot love cars, you love driving, you love motorsport, you love technology, clearly none of you are thick. So the ingredients are there...?
Are the Pistonheads lot pretty useless at buying and running 2nd hand cars or what? Genuine question - there seems to an awful lot of "We bought this MR2/Lexus/RX8/944/whatever, and we love it, but after 3 months it turns out its a complete dog and needs many thousands of pounds spending on it"
This is often followed by a bit of a free plug for whatever well reccomended marque specialist you've found, and who have run you up a nice whopping bill for a load of work that - to be blunt - if you want to play with old sports cars, you should be able to at least have a try at yourself?
I don't recall any stories more along the lines of "we bought some coilovers, and heres a photo of the lads fitting them in the carpark on Saturday morning".
Some things, clearly, are not easy - if you can weld and do paintwork at home, your a lucky guy. But its not as if most of the cars mentioned are anything particularly odd-ball - the great thing about these PH Fleet reports is they are the kind of cars that many of us members also own.
I'm not expecting PH to be a bodgetastic lot like PPC or anything. I am sure (in fact we know) that within your bunch of staff and writers you have some very talented people - Writers, Roadtesters, the IT lot who run the site etc.
But do any of you actually know which end of a screwdriver to pick up? Do you have a multimeter or a set of spanners between you?
I suspect I'm gonna get slated here - I'm not being holier-than-thou, nor am I some kind of proffesional mechanic, or someone who runs a Lambo on a £5 budget having rebuilt it from scrap in my shed.
But, I'm genuinely interested if this is representative of the general car enthusiast these days or not. Maybe its that within my group of immediate friends - all of which will quite happily muck in to roll in the dirt on a weekend and help swap a clutch out.
Perhaps its just not where PH is aiming, and simply "pay a man to do it" is acceptable to most enthusiasts these days, which is a bit dissapointing.
You lot love cars, you love driving, you love motorsport, you love technology, clearly none of you are thick. So the ingredients are there...?
Edited by snotrag on Tuesday 5th February 14:50
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